analysis IPL review
IPL 5: The Good, the Bad
Below: Kolkata Knight Riders raise the trophy after a dramatic chase to and the Ugly beat the Chennai Super Kings, winners in 2010 and 2011.
Right: Like Premier League football the IPL now has Manvinder Bisla reverse sweeping on his way to an a long tail of brouhaha and scandal, all packed IPL-winning 89 off 48 balls. He had been selected for just one into six weeks, but the fifth edition saw a of Kolkata Knight Riders previous 13 games and because he was uncapped by India, was on the maturing tournament, with close games and a 30 lakh cap. (Both AFP/Getty Images). high-class thrilling final. Nick Sadleir reports.
56 Spin JULY 2012 “I must say that this edition was by far the best one to date,” reckoned former India captain Anil Kumble and it is hard to disagree with him. IPL 2012 successfully sustained the interest of spectators and television viewers as 30% of matches ended in the final over and only one league match had no consequence on who would make the knockout stage. The standard of cricket on offer at the IPL has “The perverse player improved several-fold market reflects over five seasons and a dichotomous organisers could not have asked for a greater economy that is not level of entertainment. unusual in India.” A scintillating final saw the Kolkata Knight Riders lift the trophy for the first time after chasing a massive 191 runs to secure a thrilling victory over the Chennai Super Kings. It was an appropriate climax to a riveting league. But IPL 5 was not without its troubles. Off-field scandals included a “spot-fixing” sting; clear evidence of players earning “black” money around the corner over and above their official pay packets; a team-owner was banned from a stadium for life after a skirmish with a security guard; an Australian player was arrested for molesting an American girl in her hotel room and two players were taken into custody for attending a “drug-fuelled rave”. As ever, the Indian media is best taken with a pinch of salt and the severity of some of these events was grossly overstated. No evidence of any spot-fixing in the actual IPL was ever put forward; the molestation incident seems more to have been about some fisticuffs between Australian Luke Pomersbach and the boyfriend of the girl concerned; and the raid on the “rave” was at 8pm at a birthday party in a five-star hotel that was attended even by the young children of celebrities. Nonetheless, the IPL didn’t always make the headlines for the right reasons. The “spot-fixing” sting orchestrated by an Indian television channel resulted in the immediate suspension from all cricket of five uncapped IPL franchise-members may not have produced any real evidence of on- field foul-play, but it certainly did lift the lid on the degree to which the diminutive salary cap of 30 lakh (3 million rupees or $54,000) for Indian players who have not represented their country encourages back- hand deals. The sting saw one (uncapped) player
JULY 2012 Spin 57 analysis IPL review
Above: admit to being paid five times this amount saved for another story – bribing national Delhi policemen escort Luke in “black” money by his team’s owners. selectors to give their players a cap. This Pomersbach, the Australian Some of the IPL’s stars have not played latest malarkey makes that kind of thing batsman, to court. Pomersbach for India and the 30-lakh cap (players with sound a lot more believable. was charged with molesting an American woman and less domestic experience are capped at 10 Fortunately the BCCI have had the sense beating up her fiance in a New and 20 lakhs) results in a false market for to remove these limits and re-auction all Delhi Hotel. Charges were later personnel who are bought by team-owners capped players before the next IPL, but dropped. in much the same way as one does when that decision itself must be fraught with Right: playing “fantasy league” games. Except in difficulty as all players have one year left this fantasy league the reality is that many in their official franchise contracts, never Cheteshwar Pujara, the Royal of these salary-capped players are being mind whatever other business they may Challengers Bangalore batsman and another very average IPL paid fortunes around the corner in order to have on the side. performer, benefitted from the secure their services. Perhaps there is no such thing as capped player payment system. Consistent IPL performers like Ambati bad publicity and these shenanigans Rayudu and Manish Pandey (both, certainly didn’t deter the cricketing Right, bottom: officially at least, on the $54,000 cap) public’s interest. Overall television ratings Jacques Kallis, the all-round star are officially paid peanuts while others may have suggested a fractional dip on of the IPL5 final, made 69 off like Saurabh Tiwary ($1.6 million) and previous editions of this 75-episode annual 49 balls. Chateshwa Pujara ($875, 000) are no more TV series but a study has shown that (All AFP/Getty) valuable but are paid fortunes by virtue of the cumulative reach of viewership has the fact that they have represented their increased substantially from around $102 country. This massive gap is often bridged million in 2008 to just under $160 million by lucrative endorsement contracts on the in 2012. It means more people are watching side. the IPL, but for shorter periods of time. The This perverse player market reflects novelty has long worn off and it is quite a dichotomous economy which is not understandable that viewers don’t have unusual in India, a country plagued by the time to watch full matches when there income inequality and market irregularities are 75 games in 45 days. that encourage corruption on a grand scale. While there may not have been an I have often heard allegations of player increase in revenues from television rights, agents – who often take as much as 30% franchise owners will be smiling about and the greed of whom in India must be this year’s fantastic increase in crowd
58 Spin JULY 2012 numbers – the clear surge in support for involved in the IPL because of clashes with the various teams means that potentially the early part of the home season, but large revenue streams from ticket sales and Kevin Pietersen lived up to his reputation merchandising now look like more like a as he struck 305 runs from eight games at reality at most franchises. an average of 61, with his feats including a Of course no IPL review would be terrific unbeaten hundred. His inability to complete without mentioning how many complete the league because of national sixes were walloped by the Jamaican commitments must have been a reason for Chris Gayle. This year he clubbed 59 “DLF his retiring from limited overs cricket for Maximums” in 15 matches and took home England. the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs An IPL window would make sense but in tournament – his tally of 733 runs was with so many other T20 leagues having 143 more than second-placed Gautam taken off in recent years it is hard to say Ghambir, despite Gayle having played why the IPL should be given one when it fewer games than anyone else in the top regards itself as a domestic tournament five. He was not originally bought at the and the cap of four foreign players per first auction and that he was paid only starting XI means there are already far $550,000 for his efforts – a quarter of the more foreign players in the league than biggest salary - is not easy to believe. necessary. Daniel Vettori was named as On the bowling front the Purple Cap captain of Bangalore but he only made went to Morne Morkel, who notched up 25 the starting XI for a handful of games. Of wickets from 16 games with an economy course, Pakistanis should be allowed to rate of 7.2 runs per over and an economy play in the IPL as well of 18.1. That he was dropped for Delhi’s The IPL is growing into a tremendous semi-final probably cost them a place in competition and is full of riches but the fine the final. But the star of the show with the balance between what is good for the game ball was the young West Indian mystery and printing rupees is certainly a complex spinner Sunil Narine who took 24 wickets issue for the BCCI. One gets the feeling that from 15 games with an economy rate of the little outbreak of scandals at this year’s only 5.5 and an average of 13.5 runs per tournament doesn’t begin to scratch the wicket. surface of what lies beneath in the murky As usual, very few English players were world of big deals in Indian cricket.
JULY 2012 Spin 59 analysis IPL review
IPL 5: VALUE FOR MONEY Statistics by: Matt Wiggins
Dale Zaheer Munaf Sunil Morne Parvinder Steyn Khan Patel Narine Morkel Awana $66,667 per wicket $52,941 per wicket $46,667 per wicket $29,167 per wicket $19,000 per wicket $2,118 per wicket
Bowling averages Name Team Country Salary Wickets $ per wicket Parvinder Awana Kings XI Punjab India 36,000 17 2,118 Siddharth Trivedi Rajasthan Royals India 36,000 13 2,769 Kevon Cooper Rajasthan Royals West Indies 50,000 10 5,000 Rahul Sharma Pune Warriors India 60,000 9 6,667 Ben Hilfenhaus Chennai Super Kings Australia 100,000 14 7,143 Varun Aaron Delhi Daredevils India 60,000 8 7,500 Marlon Samuels Pune Warriors West Indies 100,000 8 12,500 Dwayne Bravo Chennai Super Kings West Indies 200,000 15 13,333 Azhar Mahmood Kings XI Punjab Pakistan 200,000 14 14,286 Dimi Mascarenhas Kings XI Punjab England 100,000 7 14,286 Muttiah Muralitharan Royal Challengers Bangalore Sri Lanka 220,000 15 14,667 Brad Hogg Rajasthan Royals Australia 180,000 10 18,000 Morne Morkel Delhi Daredevils South Africa 475,000 25 19,000 Amit Mishra Deccan Chargers India 300,000 13 23,077 Sunil Narine Kolkata Knight Riders West Indies 700,000 24 29,167 Shakib Al Hasan Kolkata Knight Riders Bangladesh 425,000 12 35,417 Albie Morkel Chennai Super Kings South Africa 500,000 13 38,462 Umesh Yadav Delhi Daredevils India 750,000 19 39,474 Ryan Harris Kings XI Punjab Australia 325,000 8 40,625 Lakshmipathy Balaji Kolkata Knight Riders India 500,000 11 45,455 Munaf Patel Mumbai Indians India 700,000 15 46,667 Lasith Malinga Mumbai Indians Sri Lanka 1,100,000 22 50,000 Vinay Kumar Royal Challengers Bangalore India 1,000,000 19 52,632 Zaheer Khan Royal Challengers Bangalore India 900,000 17 52,941 Ashok Dinda Pune Warriors India 500,000 9 55,556 Piyush Chawla Kings XI Punjab India 900,000 16 56,250 Kieron Pollard Mumbai Indians West Indies 900,000 16 56,250 Brett Lee Kolkata Knight Riders Australia 400,000 7 57,143 RP Singh Mumbai Indians India 600,000 10 60,000 Ravi Ashwin Chennai Super Kings India 850,000 14 60,714 Dale Steyn Deccan Chargers South Africa 1,200,000 18 66,667 Jacques Kallis Kolkata Knight Riders South Africa 1,100,000 15 73,333 Ashish Nehra Pune Warriors India 850,000 11 77,273 Doug Bollinger Chennai Super Kings Australia 700,000 8 87,500 Pragyan Ojha Mumbai Indians India 800,000 9 88,889 Praveen Kumar Kings XI Punjab India 800,000 9 88,889 Johan Botha Rajasthan Royals South Africa 950,000 9 105,556 Dan Christian Deccan Chargers Australia 900,000 8 112,500 Angelo Mathews Pune Warriors India 950,000 7 135,714 Ravindra Jadeja Chennai Super Kings India 2,000,000 12 166,667 Irfan Pathan Delhi Daredevils India 1,900,000 8 237,500
60 Spin JULY 2012 Cheteshwar Yusuf Chris Jacques Owais Ambati Pujara Pathan Gayle Kallis Shah Rayudu $51,471 per run $10,825 per run $2,729 per run $2,689 per run $588 per run $162 per run
Batting averages Name Team Country Salary Runs $ per Run Mandeep Singh Kings XI Punjab India 36,000 432 83 Ajinkya Rahane Rajasthan Royals India 54,000 560 96 Ambati Rayudu Mumbai Indians India 54,000 333 162 Manvinder Bisla Kolkata Knight Riders India 54,000 213 254 F du Plessis Chennai Super Kings South Africa 120,000 398 302 James Franklin Mumbai Indians New Zealand 100,000 220 455 Shikhar Dhawan Deccan Chargers India 300,000 569 527 Dwayne Bravo Chennai Super Kings West Indies 200,000 371 539 Steve Smith Pune Warriors Australia 200,000 362 552 Jesse Ryder Pune Warriors New Zealand 150,000 256 586 Owais Shah Rajasthan Royals England 200,000 340 588 Naman Ojha Delhi Daredevils India 270,000 255 1,059 Azhar Mahmood Kings XI Punjab Pakistan 200,000 187 1,070 Rahul Dravid Rajasthan Royals India 500,000 462 1,082 Shaun Marsh Kings XI Punjab Australia 400,000 336 1,190 JP Duminy Deccan Chargers South Africa 300,000 244 1,230 Sourav Ganguly Pune Warriors India 400,000 268 1,493 Mike Hussey Chennai Super Kings Australia 425,000 261 1,628 Manoj Tiwary Kolkata Knight Riders India 475,000 260 1,827 Brad Hodge Rajasthan Royals Australia 475,000 245 1,939 Tillakaratne Dilshan Royal Challengers Bangalore Sri Lanka 650,000 285 2,281 Cameron White Deccan Chargers Australia 1,100,000 479 2,296 Murali Vijay Chennai Super Kings India 900,000 336 2,679 Jacques Kallis Kolkata Knight Riders South Africa 1,100,000 409 2,689 Chris Gayle Royal Challengers Bangalore West Indies 2,000,000 733 2,729 David Warner Delhi Daredevils Australia 750,000 256 2,930 Suresh Raina Chennai Super Kings India 1,300,000 441 2,948 Brendan McCullum Kolkata Knight Riders New Zealand 900,000 289 3,114 Kevin Pietersen Delhi Daredevils England 1,000,000 305 3,279 Parthiv Patel Deccan Chargers India 650,000 194 3,351 AB de Villiers Royal Challengers Bangalore South Africa 1,100,000 319 3,448 Kumar Sangakkara Deccan Chargers Sri Lanka 700,000 200 3,500 David Hussey Kings XI Punjab Australia 1,400,000 396 3,535 Virender Sehwag Delhi Daredevils India 1,800,000 495 3,636 Gautam Gambhir Kolkata Knight Riders India 2,400,000 590 4,068 Subramaniam Badrinath Chennai Super Kings India 800,000 196 4,082 Kieron Pollard Mumbai Indians West Indies 900,000 220 4,091 Mahela Jayawardene Delhi Daredevils Sri Lanka 1,400,000 335 4,179 Rohit Sharma Mumbai Indians India 2,000,000 433 4,619 Virat Kohli Royal Challengers Bangalore India 1,800,000 364 4,945 MS Dhoni Chennai Super Kings India 1,800,000 357 5,042 Dinesh Kartik Mumbai Indians India 1,200,000 238 5,042 Ross Taylor Delhi Daredevils New Zealand 1,000,000 197 5,076 Shane Watson Rajasthan Royals Australia 1,300,000 255 5,098 Robin Uthappa Pune Warriors India 2,100,000 405 5,185 Adam Gilchrist Kings XI Punjab Australia 900,000 172 5,233 Sachin Tendulkar Mumbai Indians India 1,800,000 324 5,556 Saurabh Tiwary Royal Challengers Bangalore India 1,600,000 191 8,377 Ravindra Jadeja Chennai Super Kings India 2,000,000 191 10,471 Yusuf Pathan Kolkata Knight Riders India 2,100,000 194 10,825 Irfan Pathan Delhi Daredevils India 1,900,000 170 11,176 Cheteshwar Pujara Royal Challengers Bangalore India 875,000 17 51,471
JULY 2012 Spin 61